27 Jun2014
The hidden jobs market
I’m sure you will have heard, if not experienced the Hidden Jobs Market.
I’m talking about the jobs that don’t exist. Well, actually – they do exist, but you are too late to apply or be considered.
Why is there such a thing known as The Hidden Jobs Market?
Quite simply, it’s all about companies or recruitment companies having a conversation with a hiring manager or director about a role they wish to fill at some point and the conversation goes something like this; “If you happen to find someone on your travels that fits our requirements, let me know about them.” What this actually means, is that the recruiter hasn’t been given instructions to search and wouldn’t necessarily clear their desk to go out of their way to present people, as the whole process may waste lots of time and money. This is why you will experience calls from recruiters who get you all excited and then nothing happens. It all goes a little quiet and you don’t hear from them again. They are testing the water, dipping their toe in and if you bite, they may be able to open a door somewhere. Be very careful though. Depending upon the credibility of the recruiter (I wouldn’t trust any), you may be opening a can of worms. If they think that you’ll make a move, they’ll be searching for candidates to replace your job, quicker than you can say – you’re fired !
The Hidden Jobs Market is full of roles that don’t get advertised. It’s too dangerous for a recruiter to advertise obvious roles in obvious locations, because other recruiters will get on the band-wagon and work out who’s recruiting and send CV’s speculatively, in the hope of earning a fee. So the recruiter who has instructions will carry out a quiet, off the radar search for likely candidates and if you don’t happen to be within the search criteria, either through experience, skills, geography or company culture background, you won’t be considered. It’s pretty cruel how recruiters use their powers to influence, but it’s real and it happens all the time.
My advice to anyone searching for a job; Keep in touch regularly with recruiters and make sure that they know who you are. Most recruiters won’t take any real interest in you, so try to build a rapport. The golden rule is not to trust recruiters with anything sensitive, as they will almost certainly use the information to their advantage, either by trying to find other candidates for the job you are interested in or back-filling your job, once they know you are unsettled. Another trick is to dissuade you from joining a particular business, suggesting that there are better options around the corner. In fact, just to make the point – Someone I had introduced to a client for a senior role, was being bombarded with calls and text messages from another recruiter (supposed to be reputable), who also works for the same client on occasions, trying to offer him something else with two other companies, because he wanted to interfere with my arrangements. Can you imagine how unprofessional he looked, not only with my candidate, but also the client? Be careful – look out for the sharks when searching for a new job. Don’t get bitten by unprofessional, disingenuous recruiters that lack confidentiality or ethics.
Tags: CV writing, CV's, dealing with recruiters, face-fit.com, Headhunter, housebuilding headhunter, housebuilding recruitment, housebuilding.careers, jobs, jobs in housebuilding, jobs in new homes, newhomesjobs.co.uk, property recruitment, recruitment, searching for a job, sharks, simon wilkins, simon wilkins the headhunter
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